Technological Transitions and Material Culture in the Ancla Macuca Shipwreck (Late 18th to Early Nineteenth Century): An Archaeometric Study from Alacranes Reef, Gulf of Mexico

The Ancla Macuca shipwreck, located within the Alacranes Reef National Park in the Gulf of Mexico, represents a palimpsest context resulting from the superposition of material remains from at least two distinct wrecks, the late eighteenth to early nineteenth-century Ancla Macuca site and the R.M.S. Forth (1849). This study presents the results of an interdisciplinary project integrating underwater archaeological survey, documentary research, archeometallurgical characterization, and conservation science. Archaeometric analyses of fastenings and sheathing attest to the use of unalloyed copper during the late eighteenth century, while the artillery assemblage—comprising cast-iron guns and two probable carronades supports this chronological assessment. The exceptional cargo of one of the vessels, comprising over four hundred gold artifacts, emeralds, diamonds, and devotional objects, further illustrates the duality of religious practice and luxury consumption within Atlantic mercantile circuits. The research highlights the challenges imposed by high-energy reef environments, where processes of surface scattering, bioturbation, and coral accretion significantly alter contextual integrity. This comparative approach helped to disentangle palimpsest deposits and reconstruct technological transitions, commercial dynamics, and cultural practices in the Gulf of Mexico during the period. Moreover, this work underscores the importance of conservation strategies that reconcile archaeological research with the sustainable management of protected marine environments.